My month on the DNA diet

SLIM is something I’ve never been. I’m not dangerously overweight but enough that I’ve been on a diet or two. Most seemed like a bit of a fad so I would quit after a week or two. But a new weight-loss programme now available in the UK promises to be more scientifically sound than any other. It is a diet designed to match the most unique thing about us, our genetic code.

The Nordiska Diet, also known as “the DNA diet”, is founded on nutrigenomics which is the study of how food interacts with your genes. Its creator Newcastle-based company MyGenomics (www.mygenomics.co. uk), makes two claims.

Firstly it says that the plan will double your weight-loss potential compared to other diets and secondly it says the matching of your nutrition to your DNA has been proven to work for nine out of 10 people.

It sounds too good to be true but I’m going to stick with the DNA diet for one month to see if I Iose weight.

At £249 having your genetic code analysed to discover the weight-loss secrets within does not come cheap.

I seek a second opinion from Daniel MacArthur, a geneticist and founder of the personal genomics website Genomes Unzipped.

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“The company states its product is ‘proven to have helped 90 per cent of people who have tried it’,” he says.

“But that study was based on weight, height and age, not genetic information.” So the paper cited has nothing to do with DNA.

MyGenomics confirms this but its founder Dr Carolyn Horrocks adds: “The genetics is backed up by data published over the last 10 years in scientific journals.”

After registering on the website a DNA swab is sent to me. You rub it inside one of your cheeks, put it into a sterile tube and post it back to the lab.

The genetics is backed up by data published over the last 10 years in scientific journals

Dr Carolyn Horrocks

While my metabolism, appetite control, muscle activity and five other genetic markers are analysed I undergo the WellMan Screening at Champneys Medical Centre in Hertfordshire (www.champneys.com).

It isn’t part of the Nordiska service but the results confirm I am clinically overweight.

My waist is a shameful 39in and my “metabolic age” has edged ahead of my chronological one, meaning that at rest my body burns energy slower than it should for a 33-year-old.

Worst of all is my cholesterol. It’s not through the roof but it’s higher than it should be. So I’m fatter and less fit than I thought.

A week later my 25-page DNA dossier arrives. The conclusion is: on a cellular level I am a very boring man.

The Nordiska system places you into one of 36 potential diet and exercise combinations based on the variations in the eight genes it isolates during testing. In everything from metabolism to muscle function I am average.

Further online research suggests the DNA diet is not as bespoke as you might think. There are only four nutritional types you can be matched to. The first is “GI smart’” with an eating plan which ensures you don’t spike your blood sugar too much.

The second is “carb smart” which limits your carbohydrate intake to 40 per cent of your food.

The third is “fat smart”, which is low fat and finally mine is “balanced” which uses a combination of all of the above.

Isn’t this just standard nutritional advice? Dr Carolyn Horrocks says: “The DNA is used to help choose from the four diets, all of which are commonly used by dieticians. The fact they are matched helps them to be more efficient.”

My two fitness-related genes show a “moderate proportion of fast-and slow-twitch muscle fibres” and “equal tolerance to strength and endurance”. It sounds reassuring but I am assured I will be prescribed a standard blend of cardio, weights and high-intensity training. In other words my normal gym routine which is already boring.

I don’t lose faith just yet. According to Mariette – my personal dietician provided as part of the service – falling into the “balanced” category means I will be able to shift weight quickly and efficiently. Thomas, my assigned exercise consultant, agrees. At first glance my diet plan is pretty basic.

Mariette prescribes meals balancing protein, dairy and carbohydrates. My “bespoke” breakfast on the first day is a small bowl of porridge, a piece of wholemeal toast and two poached eggs. Dinner is chicken and couscous salad with feta cheese and spinach.

IT FEELS a lot like the changes are more common sense than unique science. Nevertheless I sprinkle sunflower seeds on everything and buy bags of nuts. I am eating more carrot sticks and hummus than I thought possible and have discovered the joys of seaweed. My “boring” genetics allow me a small glass of red wine with dinner and a piece of chocolate for dessert.

“The apparent scientific core of this concept is particularly male-friendly,” says Dr Kerri McPherson, a health psychologist at Glasgow Caledonian University. In other words as a man I am more likely to accept Nordiska’s claims and follow their advice because I believe it is based on my own biology.

The fact that it involves fitness not just calorie counting adds credibility. It’s true. The DNA dossier is giving

me motivation to stay on the diet and the personal attention I receive from my consultants is also having a noticeable effect. By the end of the second week I have lost 4.4lbs.

On the Saturday of week three I run a half marathon and beat my personal best time by more than four minutes.

After 31 days of DNA dieting I have a second health screening at Champneys. “On paper, you look like a completely

different person,” says Nick Lincoln, Champney’s senior fitness instructor. “You’ve lost 13.2lb, your metabolism has speeded up significantly and your waist has shrunk by 4in. These are stunning results.”

I am indeed stunned. My blood pressure is also down and my cholesterol has plummeted. I have reduced my metabolic age by a decade. The plans were far from futuristic but I am a man with faith in science and that’s why it worked.

Daniel MacArthur remains unsure. “It’s likely that you would lose just as much weight by following a standard diet and exercise regime without the expense of DNA testing,” he says.

But you can see in the pictures and chart that the DNA diet worked for me. Despite my misgivings just knowing that an extra level of tailoring went into my plan gave me the motivation I needed. As to whether you should pay £249 for that, you have to go with your gut.